tous les
masculine, plural
In French, the English phrase 'all' is expressed by several forms, with tous les being the default. Wiktionary also lists toutes les and tout le.
Meaning: every individual of the given class (det)
Ways to say it
| French | Note |
|---|---|
| tous les | masculine, plural |
| toutes les | feminine, plural |
| tout le | masculine |
| toute la | feminine |
These forms are used as determiners to mean 'every individual of the given class'. You can also use the related noun tout to mean 'everything possible', or the forms tout, toute and tous as adverbs meaning 'wholly'.
Which one should you use?
While tout le means 'all the', the specific phrase tout le monde is the standard way to say 'everyone' or 'everybody' in French.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form you choose depends on the gender and number of the noun being modified: use tous les for masculine plural nouns, toutes les for feminine plural nouns, tout le for masculine singular nouns and toute la for feminine singular nouns.
Did you know?
- French uses the expression tout à fait to say 'exactly' or 'completely'. While it uses the root of 'all', it functions as a confirmation rather than a quantity.
- Depending on whether tous is used as an adjective or a pronoun, the final 's' is either silent or pronounced. It is silent in tous les jours but sounded in the phrase merci à tous.
- The word tout is actually a 'cousin' to the English word 'total', as both stem from the same idea of a whole or entire amount.
Examples in context
- Tout le monde sait.They all know.This sentence shows how to use tout le to say 'everyone' knows.Tatoeba #10369589 by felix63, translation #2243023 by CK
- On a bu tout le vin.We've drunk all the wine.This sentence uses tout le to mean 'all the' wine.Tatoeba #11470695 by lbdx, translation #8811430 by CK
- J'ai bu tout le lait.I drank all the milk.This sentence uses tout le to mean 'all the' milk.Tatoeba #3294563 by nimfeo, translation #7988212 by Darragh_jd
- Tous les étudiants sont ici.All the students are here.
- Je pense à toi tout le temps.I think about you all the time.
- Je ne comprends pas tout cela.I don't understand all of that.
- Tout le monde sait que Paris est la capitale de la France.Everyone knows that Paris is the capital of France.
- Veuillez nous fournir l'ensemble des informations.Please provide us with all the information.
- Nous avons essayé l'ensemble des moyens possibles.We tried all the possible ways.
- Je vais me promener tous les jours.I go for a walk every day.
- Nous aimons tous les deux voyager.We both like to travel.
- Chantons tous ensemble.Let's sing all together.
- J'ai acheté le tout dernier billet.I bought the very last ticket.
- 2452 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are talking about their shared hobbies.
- LucasJ'aime tous les films d'action.I love all action movies.
- ChloéVraiment ? Même les vieux films ?Really? Even the old movies?
- LucasOui, j'apprécie tous les styles.Yes, I appreciate all styles.
- ChloéC'est super, Lucas !That's great, Lucas!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “all” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries la, le, les, tous, tout, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
